这类问题的主要提问句型包括：What is the main idea of this passage？What is the passage mainly about？ What does the author mainly discuss？等。对于这种简答题，我们首先快速通读全文，从原文中找出具有提示性的词、句或段落，然后进行归纳整理概括，组织成扼要的短语或句子。一般说来，文章中的主题句和总结句极具提示意义，主题句多位于篇首或段首，总结句多位于篇尾或段尾。我们来看下面一个例子：
Is there such a thing as a typical American film？ There are many features that make a movie as American， but perhaps the most essential is the theme of the loner-hero．From the earliest days of the silent films until the recent science fiction extravaganzas，the American movie has concentrated on the role of one individual who spends his or her life combating the forces of evil-and the good guy，the hero，usually wins．
In the western movie，which comes out of many legends of the American west， a typical figure is the lonesome cowboy． He wanders into a town and straightens out the troubles．Those troubles can be cattle rustlers（偷牲畜的贼）or outlaws（歹徒，逃犯）．Then the strong and independent
hero rides off into the sunset alone． Americans like this image in their films because they are highly independent，and individualism counts a great deal with them．An individual，who is able to correct the evils of the world，or of a small town，is someone to admire．
Even the gangster movie，a very popular form of the typical American film， usuallyhas a hero．Either he is a lawman outto catch the criminals or a gangster who suddenly sees the light and tries to go straight．During the violence-ridden period of Prohibition in the 1920s，the gangster movie grew in popularity．These films kept the same tone as the western-the bad cannot triumph！One good person can save the innocent．
Recent science fiction films deal with the same themes．Against the forces of alien powers，people will fight to protect their ideals．Here，too，the action centers around a single individual，but now he or she must save the world． The hero battles the unknown，trusting in inner capabilities and in the power of good over evil．Fearless，the hero of a typical American movie does not hesitate to jump into the action．This dominant theme of the American movie is familiar to people around the world．
Question：What is the topic of this passage？
通读全文，特别是根据第一段的第二句（主题句）的提示，我们可以知道本文主要是讨论美国电影的特征，"features"是关键词，因此本题答案为：The features of American film．
2．提问作者的态度、写作动机、观点
常见的提问方式有：What does the author suggest through this passage？What is the author's point of view about．．．？What's the tone of the passage？等。一般说来，涉及此类问题，文章的感情色彩比较强烈，作者的态度也较鲜明。回答该类问题，一般是先通读全文，了解文章大意，再根据文章的一些细节及关键词语来判断作者的态度、观点、看法等。如：
Franklin D．Roosevelt collected stamps，welcomed Boy Scouts，rode in an open car down Pennsylvania Avenue on state occasions，and traveled to far-distant lands for weighty confabulations（会谈）with heads of state．In these ways he was not unique．In one way only he differed from his contemporaries and from his predecessors．He had high regard for the popular consensus．When Congress fought him on the so-called"packing of the
Supreme Court"，he didn't call in the Democratic whips for a tongue-lashing（责备；辱骂），he went on the radio．And when critics inside and outside Congress accused his New Deal of being a concoction of"alphabet soup"， he didn't upbraid（责备）Congress or
send them massages；he scheduled another fireside chat．
Question：What is the author's attitude toward F．D． Roosevelt？
通过文章的许多细节可以看出作者是持赞成态度的。如当议会和F．D．R．意见有分歧时，甚至是当众对他进行批评嘲讽时，罗斯福并没有责备，而是采取了积极的行动，这些都说明作者对他的态度是赞成的。答案是： Approving．
3．提问细节
提问方式较多，主要是提问 what，when，who，where， why，which，how 等。虽然这类问题的提问方式较为灵活，但答题难度并不很大，一般都能在文章中找到答案。对于该类简答题，我们可以带着问题浏览文章，在原文中找到相关信息，确定关键词句，然后做适当处理，使之成为可理解的短语。如：
The industrial societies have been extremely productive during the last twocenturies．The economicadvance has been remarkable．During this relatively short period of time， greater changes in people's living conditions have occurred than in the thousands of years which preceded．
From about 8000 B．C．，when the agricultural era of the human race began，to 1776 A．D．，the beginning of the American Revolution，people grew hardly any richer at all． The Americans of 1776 used the same energy sources as the Romans of 1A．D．Both the ancient Romans and the Americans of 200 years ago could travel about the same short distance in a day．Both had about the same annual income and the same life span．
Question：For how many years people could not become any richer？
这道细节题需要简单的计算。该题的相关信息在第二段的第一句。通过计算我们可以得出答案：About 10，000years．
4．提问词义或解释
这种题目的提问方式主要有：What does the word"．．．"mean in this passage？What does the word"．．．"refer to？What does the author mean by saying"．．．"？等。这种题目的答案经常在原文中能找到或得到提示，所以我们可以带着问题去阅读文章，阅读时应注意破折号、同位语从句及定语从句，然后根据上下文整理出简洁的答案。请看下面的例子：
Health food is a generalterm applied to allkinds offoods that are considered more healthful than the types of foods widely sold in supermarkets．For example，whole grains，dried beans，and corn oil are health foods．An arrower classification of health food is natural food．This term is used to distinguish between types of the same food．Raw honey is a natural sweetener，whereas refined sugar is not．Fresh fruit is a natural food，but canned fruit，with sugar and other additives，is not．The most precise term of all the narrowest classification within health foods is organic food，used to describe food that are grown on a particular kind farm．Fruits and vegetables that are grown in gardens that are treated only with organic fertilizers，that are not sprayed with poisonous
insecticides， and that are not refined after harvest，are organic foods． Meats，fish，dairy and poultry products from animals that are fed only organically-grown feed and that are not infected with hormones are organic foods．
Question：What's the most general meaning of"health foods"？
通读文章，我们很容易找出本题的相关信息（第一段第一句），为达简洁，我们应将该句进行简化处理，去掉不必要的修饰补充成分。本题答案是：The foods that are considered more healthful than the foods sold in supermarkets．
